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Remembering Johnny Podres

Don Zimmer, Johnny Podres and I went to Coney Island on Easter Sunday. There was a little kid there and he said, ?Hey mister, can you win me one of those dolls??

So Zimmer took three shots and won the kid a giant, stuffed poodle.

And that?s when we started.

We got poodle after poodle until the back seat of our car was completely full.

After we left Coney Island we went to the club house in Ebbets Field and some of the players wanted to buy the poodles for their kids. We sold a whole bunch of them to the players. They bought them all.

We were set to open the season with Pittsburgh and the Pirates came to Brooklyn. Apparently they heard about the poodles and we were actually taking orders for them. We were writing down how many stuffed poodles each guy wanted.

So we took their orders, so they could bring their children the stuffed animals. We got down to the boardwalk and the first place we went the guy said, ?Hey, we know who you guys are. In fact, everybody on this boardwalk knows who you guys are and you aren?t getting any stuffed poodles. So forget about it, you guys aren?t allowed to throw.?

So the first time we got into business together it was a short lived partnership.

However, my partnership with Johnny was a long and enjoyable one. We were teammates in Brooklyn, we were roommates in Brooklyn and we were friends.

I can say, without a doubt, he was one of the greatest guys I ever had the pleasure of playing with. He represented the Dodgers to the highest degree of class, dignity and character. I’ve never, ever heard anybody say anything bad about Johnny Podres. He was a great roomie, a great teammate, and a great friend.

Johnny lived very close to me in upstate New York. When I was a Dodger farm hand, I had the privilege to pitch against Johhny in a local amateur leage game in Cohoes, NY. He was a classy gentleman for sure. As a lefty pitcher, I had admired him for a long time. Hope to see you in Dodgertown this February Tommy.

When I think of of the team’s first World Championship, I always think of the final out and the boys of summer all rushing toward Johnny Podres. Brooklyn than turned into partys, parades and dancing in the streets. What a game he pitched. Thanks Johnny.

I am glad to here that you and Johnny went to Coney Island. During a visit to Keyspan Park, Duke Snider said that it was the first time he had ever been there. I wondered ever since how often Dodger players went to Coney Island back when the team was in Brooklyn.

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